1971 in chess
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Top players
FIDE top 10 by Elo rating - January 1971- Bobby FischerBobby FischerRobert James "Bobby" Fischer was an American chess Grandmaster and the 11th World Chess Champion. He is widely considered one of the greatest chess players of all time. Fischer was also a best-selling chess author...
2740 - Boris SpasskyBoris SpasskyBoris Vasilievich Spassky is a Soviet-French chess grandmaster. He was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from late 1969 to 1972...
2690 - Viktor KorchnoiViktor KorchnoiViktor Lvovich Korchnoi ; pronounced in the original Russian as "karch NOY"; Ви́ктор Льво́вич Корчно́й, born March 23, 1931 is a professional chess player, author and currently the oldest active grandmaster on the tournament circuit...
2660 - Bent LarsenBent LarsenJørgen Bent Larsen was a Danish chess Grandmaster and author. Larsen was known for his imaginative and unorthodox style of play and he was the first western player to pose a serious challenge to the Soviet Union's dominance of chess...
2660 - Tigran PetrosianTigran PetrosianTigran Vartanovich Petrosian was a Soviet-Armenian grandmaster, and World Chess Champion from 1963 to 1969. He was nicknamed "Iron Tigran" due to his playing style because of his almost impenetrable defence, which emphasised safety above all else...
2640 - Lajos PortischLajos PortischLajos Portisch is a Hungarian chess Grandmaster, whose positional style earned him the nickname, the "Hungarian Botvinnik"...
2630 - Mikhail BotvinnikMikhail BotvinnikMikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik, Ph.D. was a Soviet and Russian International Grandmaster and three-time World Chess Champion. Working as an electrical engineer and computer scientist at the same time, he was one of the very few famous chess players who achieved distinction in another career while...
2630 - Efim GellerEfim GellerEfim Petrovich Geller was a Soviet chess player and world-class grandmaster at his peak. He won the Soviet Championship twice and was a Candidate for the World Championship on six occasions...
2630 - Lev PolugaevskyLev PolugaevskyLev Abramovich Polugaevsky was an International Grandmaster of chess and frequent contender for the world chess championship, although he never achieved that title...
2630 - Mikhail TalMikhail TalMikhail Tal was a Soviet–Latvian chess player, a Grandmaster, and the eighth World Chess Champion.Widely regarded as a creative genius, and the best attacking player of all time, he played a daring, combinatorial style. His play was known above all for improvisation and unpredictability....
2620
Chess news in brief
- Bobby FischerBobby FischerRobert James "Bobby" Fischer was an American chess Grandmaster and the 11th World Chess Champion. He is widely considered one of the greatest chess players of all time. Fischer was also a best-selling chess author...
sweeps aside all opposition in the World Championship Candidates Matches. Beginning with a 6-0 quarter-final win against Mark TaimanovMark TaimanovMark Evgenievich Taimanov is a leading Soviet and Russian chess player and concert pianist.-Chess:He was awarded the International Grandmaster title in 1952 and played in the Candidates Tournament in Zurich in 1953, where he tied for eighth place. From 1946 to 1956, he was among the world's top...
in VancouverVancouverVancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, the American is in rampant form. Unbelievably, the score is repeated against Bent LarsenBent LarsenJørgen Bent Larsen was a Danish chess Grandmaster and author. Larsen was known for his imaginative and unorthodox style of play and he was the first western player to pose a serious challenge to the Soviet Union's dominance of chess...
in the Denver semi-final. Former World Champion Tigran PetrosianTigran PetrosianTigran Vartanovich Petrosian was a Soviet-Armenian grandmaster, and World Chess Champion from 1963 to 1969. He was nicknamed "Iron Tigran" due to his playing style because of his almost impenetrable defence, which emphasised safety above all else...
makes a fight of it in the final, held in Buenos AiresBuenos AiresBuenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
and appears to be containing Fischer for the first half of the match, but then loses four games in a row to suffer a demoralising 2½-6½ defeat. Other Candidates' match scores are; quarter-final Robert HubnerRobert HübnerRobert Hübner is a respected German chess Grandmaster, chess writer, and papyrologist . At eighteen, he was joint winner of the West German Chess Championship...
3-4 Petrosian (SevilleSevilleSeville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
, match resigned by Hubner as a protest over playing conditions); quarter-final Larsen 5½-3½ Wolfgang UhlmannWolfgang UhlmannWolfgang Uhlmann is a prominent German International Grandmaster of chess. Despite being a dedicated professional chess player, and undoubtedly the GDR's most successful ever, he has also had a career in accountancy.-Chess career:...
(Las Palmas); quarter-final Viktor KorchnoiViktor KorchnoiViktor Lvovich Korchnoi ; pronounced in the original Russian as "karch NOY"; Ви́ктор Льво́вич Корчно́й, born March 23, 1931 is a professional chess player, author and currently the oldest active grandmaster on the tournament circuit...
5½-2½ Efim GellerEfim GellerEfim Petrovich Geller was a Soviet chess player and world-class grandmaster at his peak. He won the Soviet Championship twice and was a Candidate for the World Championship on six occasions...
(Moscow); semi-final Petrosian 5½-4½ Korchnoi (Moscow). Fischer therefore qualifies to play Boris SpasskyBoris SpasskyBoris Vasilievich Spassky is a Soviet-French chess grandmaster. He was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from late 1969 to 1972...
in a match for the World Championship in 1972. Commencing with his final seven games at the 1970 Palma de MallorcaPalma de MallorcaPalma is the major city and port on the island of Majorca and capital city of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. The names Ciutat de Mallorca and Ciutat were used before the War of the Spanish Succession and are still used by people in Majorca. However, the official name...
InterzonalInterzonalInterzonal chess tournaments were tournaments organized by FIDE, the World Chess Federation, and were a stage in the triennial World Chess Championship cycle.- Zonal tournaments :...
and finishing with his first match game with Petrosian, Fischer's run of twenty consecutive winsWorld records in chessThis is a list of world records in the game of chess as achieved in organized tournament, match, or simultaneous exhibition play.-Longest game:...
is the longest in first class chess since Wilhelm SteinitzWilhelm SteinitzWilhelm Steinitz was an Austrian and then American chess player and the first undisputed world chess champion from 1886 to 1894. From the 1870s onwards, commentators have debated whether Steinitz was effectively the champion earlier...
established the record of twenty-five, between 1873 and 1882. - Anatoly KarpovAnatoly KarpovAnatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov is a Russian chess grandmaster and former World Champion. He was the official world champion from 1975 to 1985 when he was defeated by Garry Kasparov. He played three matches against Kasparov for the title from 1986 to 1990, before becoming FIDE World Champion once...
and Leonid SteinLeonid SteinLeonid Zakharovich Stein was a Soviet chess Grandmaster from Ukraine. He won three USSR Chess Championships in the 1960s , and was among the world's top ten players during that era.- Early life :...
are joint winners of the Moscow AlekhineAlexander AlekhineAlexander Alexandrovich Alekhine was the fourth World Chess Champion. He is often considered one of the greatest chess players ever.By the age of twenty-two, he was already among the strongest chess players in the world. During the 1920s, he won most of the tournaments in which he played...
Memorial Tournament, with 11/17, ahead of Vasily SmyslovVasily SmyslovVasily Vasilyevich Smyslov was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster, and was World Chess Champion from 1957 to 1958. He was a Candidate for the World Chess Championship on eight occasions . Smyslov was twice equal first at the Soviet Championship , and his total of 17 Chess Olympiad medals won...
(10½/17), Vladimir TukmakovVladimir TukmakovVladimir Borisovich Tukmakov is a Jewish-Ukrainian chess grandmaster. He gained the Grandmaster title in 1972.His career first blossomed when he helped and then led the USSR to consecutive wins of the World Student Team Championship from 1966 to 1972, bagging nine gold medals along the way.In the...
and Petrosian (both 10/17). Spassky and Mikhail TalMikhail TalMikhail Tal was a Soviet–Latvian chess player, a Grandmaster, and the eighth World Chess Champion.Widely regarded as a creative genius, and the best attacking player of all time, he played a daring, combinatorial style. His play was known above all for improvisation and unpredictability....
finish on 9½/17. - Korchnoi wins at Wijk aan ZeeWijk aan ZeeWijk aan Zee is a small town on the coast of the North Sea in the municipality of Beverwijk in the province of North Holland of the Netherlands. The prestigious Tata Steel chess tournament formerly Corus chess tournament and before that called Hoogovens tournament takes place there every year.Due...
with 10/15. In joint second place are Svetozar GligorićSvetozar GligoricSvetozar Gligorić is a Serbian chess grandmaster. He won the championship of Yugoslavia a record twelve times, and is considered the best player ever from Serbia...
, Petrosian, Borislav IvkovBorislav IvkovBorislav Ivkov is a Serbian chess Grandmaster. He was the first ever World Junior Champion in 1951. He won the Yugoslav Championship in 1958 , 1963 and 1972. He was a World championship candidate in 1965, and played in four more Interzonal tournaments, in 1967, 1970, 1973, and 1979...
and Fridrik Olafsson (all 9½/15). - Paul KeresPaul KeresPaul Keres , was an Estonian chess grandmaster, and a renowned chess writer. He was among the world's top players from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s....
and Mikhail Tal share a win at TallinnTallinnTallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...
with 11½/15, ahead of David BronsteinDavid BronsteinDavid Ionovich Bronstein was a Soviet chess grandmaster, who narrowly missed becoming World Chess Champion in 1951. Bronstein was described by his peers as a creative genius and master of tactics...
on 11/15. - Korchnoi and Karpov are joint winners at the Hastings International Chess CongressHastings International Chess CongressThe Hastings International Chess Congress is an annual chess congress which takes place in Hastings, England, around the turn of the year. The main event is the Hastings Premier tournament, which was traditionally a 10 to 16 player round-robin tournament. In 2004/05 the tournament was played in the...
(1971/72 edition) with 11/15, ahead of Henrique MeckingHenrique MeckingHenrique Mecking was a leading Brazilian chess Grandmaster in the 1970s. He was a very strong player at an early age , drawing comparisons to Bobby Fischer, although he did not achieve the International Grandmaster title until 1971...
and Robert Byrne (both 9½/15). - The winner of the 39th Soviet ChampionshipUSSR Chess ChampionshipThis is a list of all the winners of the USSR Chess Championship. It was the strongest national chess championship ever held, with eight world chess champions and four world championship finalists among its winners...
is Vladimir SavonVladimir SavonVladimir Andreyevich Savon was a Ukrainian chess player.He learned how to play late, at the age of 13....
with 15/21. In finishing ahead of such colossi as Smyslov, Tal, Karpov, Bronstein, Taimanov, Polugaevsky, Vaganian, Stein, Balashov and others, the little-known Ukrainian delivers a surprising result, described by commentators as the least plausible for decades. The contest coincides with the final stages of Fischer's match with Petrosian, and there is speculation that this unsettling distraction in the Soviet camp has affected their play. - Vlastimil HortVlastimil HortVlastimil Hort is a chess Grandmaster of Czech nationality. During the 1960s and 1970s he was one of the world's strongest players and reached the Candidates stage of competition for the world chess championship, but was never able to compete for the actual title.Hort was born in Kladno,...
wins at HavanaHavanaHavana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
's Capablanca MemorialCapablanca MemorialThe Capablanca Memorial is a chess tournament that has been held annually in Cuba since 1962.José Raúl Capablanca y Graupera was a famous Cuban chess master who was World Champion from 1921 to 1927. The Capablanca Memorial became the best paid tournament in the world...
Tournament, with 10½/15. Following close behind are Efim GellerEfim GellerEfim Petrovich Geller was a Soviet chess player and world-class grandmaster at his peak. He won the Soviet Championship twice and was a Candidate for the World Championship on six occasions...
and Georgi TringovGeorgi TringovGeorgi Petrov Tringov was a Grandmaster of chess from Bulgaria. He won the Bulgarian national chess championship in 1963, the year he was awarded the Grandmaster title, only the second Bulgarian player thus honored...
. - Twenty-year-old Yugoslav Ljubomir LjubojevicLjubomir LjubojevicLjubomir Ljubojević is a Grandmaster of chess. He was born on November 2, 1950, in Titovo Užice, Yugoslavia . Ljubojević was awarded the International Master title in 1970 and the GM title in 1971. He was Yugoslav champion in 1977 and 1982. He won the 1974 Canadian Open Chess Championship...
continues to make an impression, sharing first place with Oscar PannoOscar PannoOscar R. Panno is an Argentine chess Grandmaster.Panno won the World Junior Chess Championship in 1953, and also won the championship of Argentina the same year....
at Palma de Mallorca with 11/15. Following are Samuel ReshevskySamuel ReshevskySamuel "Sammy" Herman Reshevsky was a famous chess prodigy and later a leading American chess Grandmaster...
and Lajos PortischLajos PortischLajos Portisch is a Hungarian chess Grandmaster, whose positional style earned him the nickname, the "Hungarian Botvinnik"...
(both 10/15). - Ulf AnderssonUlf AnderssonUlf Andersson is a leading Swedish chess player. FIDE awarded him the International Master title in 1970 and the Grandmaster title in 1972 .-Career:...
shares victory with Vlastimil Hort on 8½/11 at GothenburgGothenburgGothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
, ahead of Spassky (8/11). - Hort wins the Czech Open Championship in LuhacoviceLuhacoviceLuhačovice is a spa town in the Zlín Region, Moravia, Czech Republic.It occupies a valley, whose elevation is a minimum of 250 m above sea level...
with 11½/15, ahead of László SzabóLászló Szabó (chess player)László Szabó was a prominent Hungarian Grandmaster of chess.Born in Budapest, he burst onto the international chess scene in 1935, at the unusually young age of 18...
on 10½/15 and Vladimir LiberzonVladimir LiberzonVladimir Mikhailovich Liberzon was a Russian–born Israeli chess grandmaster.-Biography:Liberzon played in several Soviet championships, his best result being fourth at the 36th Championship, Alma-Ata 1968/69...
on 10/15. - Evgeny Vasiukov is the winner at VarnaVarnaVarna is the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and third-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia and Plovdiv, with a population of 334,870 inhabitants according to Census 2011...
with 11/15, ahead of Florin GheorghiuFlorin GheorghiuFlorin Gheorghiu is a Romanian chess player and university lecturer in foreign languages.Born in Bucharest, his prodigious talent for the game was evidenced by his many early achievements; he became an International Master in 1963 and Romania's first Grandmaster just two years later...
(10½/15) and Jan SmejkalJan SmejkalJan Smejkal is a Czech chess player and, since 1972, an International Grandmaster. In the 1970s, he was among the world chess elite...
(10/15). Smejkal makes a final norm towards qualification for the Grandmaster title. - Walter Browne and Larry EvansLarry EvansFor the football player of the same name, see Larry Evans .Larry Melvyn Evans was an American chess grandmaster, author, and journalist. He won or shared the U.S. Chess Championship five times and the U.S. Open Chess Championship four times...
are co-winners of the U.S. Open in VenturaVentura, CaliforniaVentura is the county seat of Ventura County, California, United States, incorporated in 1866. The population was 106,433 at the 2010 census, up from 100,916 at the 2000 census. Ventura is accessible via U.S...
. Over four hundred players participate. - Larry Evans is the winner of the Statham Masters. The first edition of a series of tournaments, it is officially named after chess benefactor Louis D. Statham (1908–1983), who is primarily an engineer and inventor of medical instruments. Later, the event becomes more commonly known as the Lone Pine InternationalLone Pine InternationalLone Pine International was a series of chess tournaments held annually in March or April from 1971 through 1981 in Lone Pine, California. Sponsored by Louis D. Statham , millionaire engineer and inventor of medical instruments, the tournaments were formally titled the Louis D. Statham Masters...
, in association with its Californian venue. - Gligoric wins the West German Open ChampionshipGerman Chess ChampionshipThe German Chess Championship has been played since 1861, and determines the national champion.Prior to 1880 three different federations organized chess activities in Germany: the Westdeutscher Schachbund , the Norddeutscher Schachbund and the Mitteldeutscher Schachbund . Each one organized its...
, held in Berlin. - Raymond KeeneRaymond KeeneRaymond Dennis Keene OBE is an English chess Grandmaster, a FIDE International Arbiter, a chess organiser, and a journalist and author.p196 He won the British Chess Championship in 1971, and was the first player from England to earn a Grandmaster norm, in 1974. In 1976 he became the second...
, one of several young English players chasing the country's first grandmaster title, wins the British Chess ChampionshipBritish Chess ChampionshipThe British Chess Championship is organised by the English Chess Federation. There are separate championships for men and women. Since 1923 there have been sections for juniors, and since 1982 there has been an over-sixty championship. The championship venue usually changes every year and has been...
in BlackpoolBlackpoolBlackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...
. - The 1971/72 edition of the Niemeyer junior tournament, held every year since 1962/63 in GGroningen, is formally adopted by FIDE as the 1st European Junior Chess ChampionshipEuropean Junior Chess ChampionshipThe first chess youth championship in Europe was the yearly European Junior Championship for under age 20. It was played from 1971–2002. FIDE officially introduced the European Junior Championship in 1970 at their Annual Congress and so the 1971/72 edition was the first official European...
. The winner is the young Hungarian Gyula SaxGyula SaxGyula Sax is a Hungarian chess player and International Arbiter , born in Budapest.He was awarded the IM title in 1972 and the GM title in 1974. He was the Hungarian Chess Champion in 1976 and 1977 . In 1971-72, he was the European Junior Champion, and he placed first at Rovinj-Zagreb 1975,...
, who follows in the footsteps of compatriots Andras AdorjanAndras AdorjanAndrás Adorján is a Hungarian author and Grandmaster of chess , born in Budapest. He adopted his mother's surname Adorján in 1968....
and Zoltán RibliZoltan RibliZoltán Ribli is a Hungarian chess grandmaster and International Arbiter . He was twice a World Championship Candidate and three times Hungarian Champion.-A career in chess:...
, the winners of the previous two Niemeyer tournaments. - Computer scientists at The Institute of Control Science, Moscow, create the chess-playing program KAISSAKaissaKaissa was a chess program developed in the Soviet Union in the 1960s. It was named so after the chess goddess Caissa. Kaissa became the first world computer chess champion in 1974 in Stockholm.- History :...
and run it on a British computer. - Ken ThompsonKen ThompsonKenneth Lane Thompson , commonly referred to as ken in hacker circles, is an American pioneer of computer science...
, an American chess enthusiast and pioneer of computer scienceComputer scienceComputer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
, writes his first chess-playing program.
Births
- Michael Adams, English GM, world elite player, former World Championship finalist - November 17
- Vladimir Akopian, Armenian GM, former World Junior Champion and highly rated - December 7
- Victor BologanVictor BologanViktor Viorel Bologan is a Moldovan chess grandmaster.On the April 2005 FIDE list, he had an Elo rating of 2700, making him number 18 in the world and Moldova's best chess player. His major accomplishment has been winning the Dortmund Sparkassen 2003, ahead of higher-rated and well-known players...
, Moldovan GM, a winner of the strong Dortmund Sparkassen event - December 14 - Vasil SpasovVasil SpasovVasil Spasov is a Bulgarian chess grandmaster. Spasov won the 1989 World Junior Chess Championship. Spasov has been Bulgarian Champion several times: 1990, 1997, 2000, 2003 and 2008....
, Bulgarian GM, former World Junior Champion with multiple national titles - February 17 - Alexander Delchev, Bulgarian GM, former European Junior Champion and national champion - July 15
- Christopher LutzChristopher LutzChristopher Lutz is a German chess grandmaster and the German chess champion in 1995 and 2001. In 2000 he was a member of the German team that won a silver medal in the 34th Chess Olympiad in Istanbul....
, German GM, renowned theoretician and former national champion - February 24 - Konstantin LernerKonstantin LernerKonstantin Zaivelevich Lerner was a Ukrainian chess grandmaster...
, Soviet-Ukrainian GM, former national champion of the Ukraine - February 28 - Vitali GolodVitali GolodVitali Golod is a Soviet–Israeli chess grandmaster.As of April 2007, his Elo rating was 2597, making him the # 7 player in Israel and the 152nd-highest rated player in the world. It is his peak rating so far.-Chess career:...
, Ukrainian-Israeli GM, former champion of Ukraine before his move to Israel - June 23 - Martin MrvaMartin MrvaMartin Mrva is a Slovakian chess grandmaster. He achieved his highest Elo rating of 2512 in 2005.He won the Slovakia Championship in 1989, he is the second vicechampion of students in 1992 in Odese, in zonal tournament in Budapešt 2000 took 5th place, he is winner of grandmaster tournaments in...
, Slovakian GM, former national champion - December 12 - Vasik RajlichVasik RajlichVasik Rajlich is an International Master in chess and the author of Rybka, one of the strongest chess playing programs in the world. Rajlich is a dual Czechoslovakian-American citizen by birth; he was born in the United States of America to Czech parents, at that time graduate students, but grew...
, Czech-American IM, author of the powerful playing program Rybka - ?
Deaths
- Olaf BardaOlaf BardaOlaf Barda , born Olaf M. Olsen, was a Norwegian chess player. He was the first Norwegian awarded the title of International Master, which he received in 1952....
, Norwegian IM, six times the national champion and a correspondence grandmaster - May 2 - Alexander ZaitsevAlexander Zaitsev (chess player)Alexander Nikolayevich Zaitsev was a leading Soviet chess grandmaster. He was born in Vladivostok, Russia.Perhaps his finest achievement was a share of first place at the 1968/69 USSR Chess Championship of Alma Ata...
, Soviet GM, tied first for the 1968/69 USSR Championship, died at thirty-six - November 8 - Hans Müller, Austrian IM, divided career between chess, skiing, fencing etc. Also a chess writer - February 28
- Victor KahnVictor KahnVictor Kahn was a Russian–French chess master.He was born in Moscow but left Russia in 1912 eventually ending up in France going via Sweden, Denmark and Germany. He won the Copenhagen Championship in 1916. He also played at Hamburg 1916....
, Russian-born master, later settled in France and won the national championship - October 6 - José AraizaJosé AraizaJosé Joaquín Araiza Muñoz was a Mexican chess master.In 1926 in Mexico City, Araiza took second place, behind Carlos Torre. In 1928, he tied for twelfth/fourteenth place in The Hague . In 1930, he took eleventh place in San Remo...
, Mexico's best player prior to the arrival of Carlos Torre - September 27 - Iosif PogrebysskyIosif PogrebysskyIosif Benediktovich Pogrebyssky was a Ukrainian chess master.He played several times in Ukrainian Chess Championship, and took 3rd at Poltava 1927 , took 5th at Odessa 1928 , shared 1st at Kiev 1936, took 2nd, behind Fedor Bogatyrchuk, at Kiev 1937, and tied for 2nd-3rd...
, Ukrainian master, active as a tournament player in the 1920s and 1930s - May 20 - Luis Palau, Argentinian master, represented his country at three Olympiads in the 1920s - February 8